Trial and Error
by Lingua Dii
Summary: Kenny killed Cartman, but someone is hot on his trail because of it. Meanwhile, Kyle makes a deal to save Kenny from going to prison. Sequel of "Mysterion". Rated M for gore.
1. Forgiveness

After he had killed Cartman, Kenny quickly found an exit to where he had been held prisoner. As soon as he walked through the door, he was bathed in a bright white light and teleported back to South Park, near the lake, without his gun. It was night time, and the cold air only exacerbated his pain.

"How the fuck did this happen? Was it Cthulhu? Could he even do something like that, being dead and all? Why would he do something like this?"

Kenny reached for his arm and started limping away without an actual direction.

"_Everything hurts... I can't go to the hospital; they'd ask too many questions... Kyle... I have to get to Kyle. He should know something about first-aid._"

* * *

Once Kenny reached Kyle's home, he went around to the back and tossed small rocks at Kyle's window. Inside his room, Kyle heard the rocks hitting his window, opened it and, much to his relief, saw Kenny.

"Kenny!"  
"Shh! Not so loud!"  
"S-Sorry."  
"Well? Are you gonna let me bleed on your backyard all night, or are you gonna invite me in?"  
"Sorry! I'll be down there in a sec."

Kyle picked up a towel and rushed downstairs. He opened the front door and helped Kenny inside and into his room, while making sure Kenny's blood was absorbed by the towel, so as not to leave any trace of his presence.

"Kenny, what happened to you?" Kyle asked as the boys headed up into his room.  
"I found Cartman, but he knocked me out and locked me up. Then I..."  
"You what?"

Kenny simply lowered his head in shame.

"...You said you wouldn't. You **promised**."  
"It wasn't like that... He said he would never stop, and I believed him."  
"Do you think that makes it right?"  
"No. I'm just telling you what happened."

Kyle placed a different towel on his bed and Kenny sat down on it.

"Are you OK?" Kyle asked.  
"Not really. They beat me up."  
"Take off your shirt."  
"What? Kyle, this is no time for..."  
"If they beat you up, you might have a broken rib. Take off your shirt so I can get some ice to put on it, for the pain. Then I'm taking you to the hospital."  
"Kyle, no. I can't go to the hospital. They'd ask too many questions."  
"Kenny, you need a hospital. You're bleeding from your head. You might have a concussion. After all this time-"  
"What do you mean by that?"  
"Well, you've been missing for about two weeks."  
"What?!"  
"You didn't know?"  
"No... I swear it hasn't been more than a day since I left to stop Cartman."  
"Well, it's been two weeks. I've been here, worried sick about you."  
"Thanks, Kyle..."

Kenny sighed and finally gave in to Kyle's wishes.

"Look, I'll go to the hospital, if you really want me to. Just let me shower first."  
"What, here?"  
"Well... yeah. I can't just show up at my place looking like this. My mom would freak!"  
"And you think mine won't when she sees all the blood in the tub?"  
"I'll be sure to clean up after myself. Don't worry."  
"Fine. Just hurry... and be quiet. You might wake up my brother, or my parents."  
"Thanks, Kyle." Kenny said as he quickly kissed Kyle.

Kenny left for Kyle's bathroom. Kyle smiled and rubbed his fingers on his lips.

"_I can't believe he kissed me... again. I guess he really does like me. Does this mean we're a couple now?_"

Meanwhile, while Kyle wondered about his and Kenny's status, Kenny had already undressed and gotten into the tub for a quick shower. As the water poured down onto his body, washing away his and Cartman's blood, his mind wandered.

"_Why is Kyle being so cool about this? I **killed** someone. This isn't the kind of stuff that gets forgiven..._"

Kenny started rubbing his hands as hard as he could. He could see Cartman's face, staring at the bullet just before it hit him.

"_I can't believe I killed him... I-I..._"

Kenny was starting to freak out. He breathed in and out slowly, to calm himself down.

"_Just relax, Kenny... Relax..._" Kenny thought.

* * *

Once he was done with his shower and put on his pants, Kenny went back into Kyle's room, who was sitting on his bed with a thin box on his lap. Kyle looked at Kenny for a while, enjoying the view of his shirtless friend.

"_You're so fucking hot, Kenny._"

"What's that?" Kenny asked.  
"It's something very important to you."

"_No way._" Kenny thought.

Kyle opened the box and showed Kenny his orange parka.

"You kept it?"  
"Of course. It's important to you... I ironed it every day."  
"Why?"  
"W-Well, I kinda... I've been sleeping with it ever since you didn't come back." Kyle shyly confessed.  
"Wow. That's not creepy at all."  
"I thought you were dead! Sleeping with your parka made me feel... a little better about possibly never seeing you again."  
"I was just kidding. I understand. If I was in you situation, I probably would've done the same thing."  
"...Well? Are you gonna get dressed or what?"

"_Not that I don't enjoy seeing you shirtless like this..._"

"Sure."

Kenny slowly put on his parka, enjoying its soft inside, until, at last, he was done. He was starting to feel a little better about having been locked up.

"Thanks for keeping this safe for me, Kyle."  
"You're welcome."

Kenny began to feel lightheaded. He looked for something to hang on to, but there was nothing nearby. He collapsed onto the ground and hit his head. The last thing he heard before everything faded to black was Kyle screaming his name loudly enough to wake up everyone in his house. Kyle's parents then called an ambulance, once they realized what was going on.

* * *

Kenny woke up later in the hospital, with Kyle holding his hand.

"Uh..." Kenny groaned.  
"Kenny!" Kyle yelled. "You're OK!"  
"Not so loud... My head still kind of hurts."  
"S-Sorry."  
"W-Where am I?"  
"You're in the South Park hospital. My mom called an ambulance to take you. I've been here for a while now, waiting for you to wake up."  
"Thanks, Kyle..."  
"Listen, Kenny... Your disappearance was kind of a big deal around here. Your parents, your brother and your sister wouldn't stop crying... Everyone was worried about you."  
"What about Cartman?"  
"Same thing."

"_Wow. I can't believe he was missed._" Kenny thought.

"The point is, cops got involved." Kyle continued. "They searched the entire town for you, but couldn't find you anywhere."

"_No shit._" Kenny thought sarcastically.

"And... the cops think you're involved with Cartman's disappearance."  
"Well, they're right about that..."  
"Kenny..."  
"No, Kyle, it's true. I'm the one who... who killed him. It's my fault he's gone."  
"You had no choice!"  
"Maybe so, but, like you said, that doesn't make it right."  
"Kenny, I... I can't lose you... Please don't make me lose you."

Kyle suddenly started crying. At that moment, to keep Kyle from getting hurt, Kenny decided to keep the fact that he had killed Cartman a secret from the police and anyone else who might want to put him in jail for it.

"OK, Kyle. I won't tell anyone. Now please stop crying."  
"D-Do you really mean that?" Kyle asked between sobs.  
"Yes. I don't want to see you hurt... I... I love you."

Kyle stopped crying and approached Kenny. The boys shared a brief kiss, before a police officer entered Kenny's hospital room and knocked on the door to announce himself.

"Are you Kenneth McCormick?"  
"Yup."  
"We have some questions to ask you."  
"What's this about?" Kyle asked.  
"I'm afraid I can't discuss that with you."  
"I'm just going to tell him once I'm done, so you might as well tell him now."  
"That's not how it works. I can't just-"  
"Settle down, officer. I'll take it from here."  
"Yes, sir."

Once the officer left the room, a detective entered it.

"Who are you?" Kenny asked.  
"My name's Matt. I'm the detective working your case, Kenny."  
"Are **you** gonna tell me what this is about?"  
"We think your friend, Eric, was-"  
"Cartman is **not** my friend."  
"Sorry... Anyway, we think Eric was involved with an underground cult of Cthulhu worshipers here in South Park."  
"Seriously?" Kyle asked.  
"Yes. We've been investigating them for a while now."

Kenny and Kyle shared wary looks. Matt noticed this and realized they were hiding something from him.

"What did you find out about them?" Kenny asked.  
"From what we could gather, they were trying to resurrect Cthulhu."  
"And do you really believe in Cthulhu?"  
"I've seen enough to know not to doubt stuff like that."

The boys shared wary looks again.

"Anyway, it's time for me to ask the questions... Kyle, is it? If you wouldn't mind, I need you to leave the room."  
"Can't he stay?"  
"I'm sorry, but that's not allowed."  
"Please? I'd really like for him to stay."  
"It's against the rules."  
"It's OK, Kenny. I'll be right outside."

Kyle let go of Kenny's hand and exited the room, closing the door behind him. Matt watched the whole thing, then turned to Kenny, who was scared out of his mind.

"Relax, Kenny. I won't take very long. You can have Kyle back in about ten minutes."

Matt started by asking questions about whether Kenny had seen Cartman. Albeit hesitantly, Kenny lied and said he had only seen him at school.

"You're sure?" Matt asked. "You haven't seen him anywhere else?"  
"Like I said, he's not my friend, even though we used to hang out... I never liked him."  
"'Used to'? Why did you stop?"

Kenny felt a cold shiver run down his spine. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and tried coming up with a good answer.

"Well, I haven't seen him in weeks. That's why we stopped."  
"Right..."

Kenny could tell Matt didn't believe his answer, but he hoped that, having nothing else to go on, he'd never know where to look to find evidence to the contrary.

"What about your captors? Do you remember anything about them that could help us identify who they were?"

Kenny had another decision to make. Should he tell he truth, and admit he was being held captive by the cult members, or lie, and say something else? He hesitated for a bit, but decided to tell Matt the truth for once. Most of it, anyway.

"I... I was being held captive by some guys in cloaks."  
"Do you know where?"  
"I couldn't tell. They had me locked up in a cell."  
"Were there others?"  
"Not that I could tell. The hallway seemed to go on forever."  
"And did **that** happen to you when you were... kidnapped?"  
"My head? Yeah. They knocked me out."  
"Did they tell you why they kidnapped you?"  
"No..."  
"What about your... acquaintance, Eric? Was he held captive by the same group?"  
"Uh... Well, like I said, I didn't see anyone else."  
"OK..."  
"Um... Is that all?"  
"For now. I'm going back to the precinct and... review the evidence."

Matt opened Kenny's hospital room door, but turned around before leaving.

"I'm glad you're OK, Kenny. I can only hope Eric's still alright too. His mother hasn't stopped calling us in tears."

Matt waited a few seconds, checking Kenny's reaction to his final statement, before finally leaving. Kyle entered the room shortly after.

"What did you guys talk about?"

In response, Kenny simply lowered his head, and tears started falling on his bed sheet. Kyle quickly approached him and took his hand, gently rubbing it to calm him down.

"Kenny? What's wrong?"  
"I... He wanted to know about where I was held up, if I had seen Cartman... Stuff like that."  
"Why are you crying?"  
"He said Cartman's mother's been crying and calling the police in tears."  
"Kenny, you-"  
"No, Kyle. Don't say anything. **I** killed him. It's **my** fault she's suffering."

Kyle lowered his head. He didn't have the courage to look his friend in the eyes, knowing that he was right. Kyle had tried to deny it to himself, but he no longer could.

"...You're right."

Kyle raised his head and was faced with a confused Kenny.

"You're right, Kenny. I've been trying to convince myself otherwise, but you're right."  
"Kyle..."  
"**But**... You had no other choice. You did what you had to do to protect us. Protect **me**. And that's why... I forgive you."

Kenny started crying again. Kyle put his arms around Kenny and pulled him into a hug, while gently rubbing the back of his head.

"...I forgive you, Kenny."


	2. Desperate Times

A few weeks later, Kenny was finally able to leave the hospital. His parents had visited him every once in a while, but Kyle had done so every day, sometimes going so far as to sleep there, in spite of the staff and his parents' objections. Kenny greatly appreciated Kyle's unwavering faith in him. Each and every day, Kyle reminded Kenny that he didn't hate him for killing Cartman. However, he also made sure to tell Kenny that he disapproved of his choice, even if Kenny felt that it had been justified.

"Ready to go home, Kenny?" Kyle asked.  
"Ready as I'll ever be."

Kenny took Kyle's hand, kissed it gently, and walked out of his hospital room, still holding Kyle's hand. Kyle blushed more and more with every step. While he was still unsure of his status relative to Kenny, he wasn't going to complain about holding hands with the person he loved.

"_Kenny's skin is so soft..._" Kyle thought. "_I can hardly believe we're finally... more than just friends. Stan was right._"

The boys' open display of affection earned some looks and whispers from everyone around them until they reached the exit, at which point Kyle let go of Kenny's hand.

"Why did you let go? I thought you liked stuff like that."  
"I do, it's just... I didn't tell my parents about... us."  
"So? Showing is always better than telling."  
"Kenny, I just... I can't. Not yet."

While Kenny was hesitant to let Kyle keep their relationship a secret to everyone who mattered, he just couldn't say no to Kyle.

"It's OK, Kyle. I understand. I can wait until you're ready."  
"Thanks, Kenny..."

Kyle looked out the exit to see if his father could tell what was going on inside the hospital. Once he realized that he couldn't, Kyle quickly kissed Kenny and led him outside, while Kenny relished in the sensation of Kyle's lips against his own.

* * *

Kyle's parents drove Kenny to his house, where his parents and siblings awaited. Kenny briefly wondered why they hadn't just gone to the hospital, like Kyle and his father had, but soon dismissed those thoughts.

"_They already showed that they care by visiting me... Even if Kyle visited more often._" Kenny thought.

"Well, Kenny, this is it." Kyle said as he reached for Kenny's hand. "I'll see you later, alright?"

Kyle gently rubbed Kenny's hand, while making sure his father couldn't see it. Kenny smiled and finally replied to him.

"Yeah." Kenny said. "Thanks for driving me here, Mr. Broflovski."  
"Any time, Kenny."

Kyle let go of Kenny's hand, who then quickly exited the car and went inside his home. He was greeted by his older brother with a big hug.

"Welcome home, bro."  
"Thanks, Kevin."

Kenny looked around. His parents were on the couch, watching TV, but quickly rose to greet him. However, his sister was nowhere to be found. After greeting his parents, Kenny asked about her.

"Where's Karen?"  
"She's upstairs, in her room. You should go say 'hi'."

"Yes I should." Kenny thought.

Kenny headed upstairs and into his sister's room. He found her lying down on her bed, writing in her diary.

"What'cha doing there?" Kenny asked.  
"Kenny!"

Karen closed her diary and ran straight for her brother. She put his arms around him and squeezed as hard as she could, nearly in tears. Kenny gently rubbed the back of her head until she decided to break the hug.

"I'm so happy to see you."  
"So am I, Karen."  
"I'm sorry I didn't visit you at the hospital, but mom was afraid I'd overreact... She still treats me like a baby."  
"It's OK, sis."  
"Does your head still hurt?"  
"Nah... The bandage is just for show. Makes me look more badass."

Karen giggled at her brother's remark.

"If you say so, Kenny."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the South Park police precinct, detective Matt was trying to connect the dots on the McCormick/Cartman disappearance case. He had already interviewed Cartman's mother, as well as Kenny's parents and siblings, not to mention Kenny himself and Kyle. His gut told him that Kenny and Kyle were hiding something from him, yet he couldn't figure out what. Just as he was about to go home, someone called him on his cellphone. The number was blocked, but Matt accepted the call anyway.

"Hello?"

Matt heard someone's heavy breathing on the other end. After a few seconds, a distorted voice replied.

"You're looking in the wrong place..."  
"Who's this?"  
"My name is not important, detective Matthew. What matters is what I know."  
"...What do you know?"  
"I know what happened to Eric Cartman and Kenneth McCormick. I know where they were."  
"Where?"  
"I'll tell you, but only if you do **me** a favor."

Matt was hesitant to promise something to a random stranger's voice on the phone, but he was convinced there was no way the stranger would be able to tell that he wasn't going to keep his promise, should it be something he couldn't (or wouldn't) do.

"What do you want?"  
"You need to put Kenneth McCormick in jail."  
"Why would I do that?"  
"He's the one who killed Eric Cartman."  
"How do you know that?"  
"...Coordinates are being sent to your phone. Follow them, and all your questions will be answered."

The stranger hung up on the detective, and the coordinates the stranger had promised arrived. Matt wondered if he should follow them, but only for a fraction of a second. More than anything, he wanted the truth.

"_If Kenny really did kill Cartman, he needs to be brought to justice._"

* * *

Matt got into his car and turned on his GPS. He drove for hours, unsure of what he would find at his destination, until he finally arrived at a large warehouse.

"_Is this it?_"

Matt checked his GPS three times, to confirm that he had arrived at the proper coordinates.

"_I guess it is..._"

Matt slowly exited his car and entered the warehouse.

"Hello?"

Matt's voice echoed all throughout the large warehouse. Nobody answered. He looked around and saw a few video cameras, as well as a staircase that led underground. He took a deep breath and headed toward it, while looking around himself, to see if there was someone else in the warehouse.

* * *

Once Matt arrived underground, he saw arrows on the ground. The paint was still fresh, meaning that someone had been there just before Matt had arrived. He quickly drew out his weapon, in case whomever had painted the arrows was still around, and followed them.

* * *

Matt arrived at a security station, where all the footage from the various cameras around the warehouse ended up. He found a piece of footage playing. The footage was of a hooded figure fighting Cartman.

"_What do we have here...?_"

There was no sound, but he could tell the hooded man was unfazed by Cartman's strikes. The footage ended with the hooded man aiming the gun at Cartman, who was on his knees, begging for his life, and pulling the trigger. After that, the hooded figure looked at the camera. It was in black and white, but it was definitely Kenny. Once Kenny left the room, the video returned to the beginning of the fight.

"_It's on a loop... But this proves it. Kenny killed Eric. Now the only question is, where is Eric's body? This footage should be enough evidence to convict Kenny, but Eric's mother deserves to be able to know where her son is, even if he is dead._"

Matt's eyes were drawn to a second screen, which had a note attached to it.

"_What's this?..._"

He read the note slowly.

"Welcome, detective. As you can see, Kenneth is not who he appears to be. He's the one who killed Eric."

"_No shit._" Matt thought.

"Put him in jail."

The note ended abruptly, making Matt nervous, but he knew what he had to do. Kenny had to go to jail.

"_I got you now, Kenny._"

* * *

The following morning, Kenny woke up covered in sweat, after a particularly bad nightmare. He only remembered a few bits and pieces, but it was definitely Cthulhu-related.

"_I stopped his cult... It's probably just a regular nightmare. God knows I've had more than my fair share of those... I'd better shower ASAP. I wouldn't want Kyle to see me like this._"

* * *

After showering and eating breakfast, Kenny left for Kyle's house. He left as quickly and quietly as he could, so his family wouldn't ask him questions about his destination. He arrived at Kyle's house a few minutes afterward and rang the bell. Kyle, who had been watching everything from his bedroom window, was already at the door, waiting for him. Kyle greeted Kenny with a big hug.

"Aren't you afraid your parents might see us?"  
"They're out on a date..."

"_When can **we** go on one of those?_" Kenny thought.

"So early?"  
"Yeah."  
"What about Ike?"  
"He's still sleeping."  
"Well then... I hope you don't mind if I get more than a hug."

Kyle smiled at Kenny, and the boys kissed. Kyle enjoyed the sensation for a few seconds, before breaking the kiss.

"That was nice." Kyle said.  
"I know."

Kyle laughed at Kenny's statement.

"Happy now?" Kyle jokingly asked.  
"Very."  
"Let's go into my room. We'll have more privacy."  
"Lead the way."

* * *

Kyle took Kenny's hand and quickly dragged him into his room. Kenny barely had enough time to close Kyle's front door.

"Slow down! What if your brother hears us?"  
"Trust me, he won't wake up. I've seen that kid sleep through my dad watching TV at almost full volume in the living room."

* * *

Once the boys arrived at Kyle's room, a question arose in Kenny's mind.

"So... now what?"  
"I... I honestly don't know. You're the first person I've ever... been intimate with."

"_'Intimate'? I thought we were dating, but I guess you don't feel the same way..._" Kenny thought.

"Seriously?"  
"Very... What did you usually do with the girls you've dated?"  
"O-Oh, you don't want to do **that**. Trust me. Not yet anyway. When we're... closer, we'll work on that."  
"...Was sex all you used to think about?"  
"I wasn't in love with them... But I **do** love **you**."

"_I never get tired of hearing that._" Kyle thought.

"And that's why I don't want to just have sex with you. I... I want to take care of you; I want to do **everything** for you... But everything at its own pace."  
"Kenny..."  
"And above all else, I want to **keep** loving you."  
"...I love you too, Kenny."

The boys shared their second kiss of the day. This time, they took their time, enjoying all the sensations. Kenny had one arm around Kyle's waist, pulling him closer, while placing his other hand on Kyle's cheek. Kyle, on the other hand, ran his fingers through Kenny's messy blond hair. Once they finally broke it off, Kyle sighed deeply and smiled.

"I know what we can do. Let's watch a movie."  
"Sure, Kyle. What do you have?"  
"Um... Let's see..."

Kyle went on to describe the movies and series he had on various DVD's that were on his desk. Kenny finally agreed on one of them and sat down on Kyle's chair, with Kyle sitting on his lap. Kenny gently put his arms around his stomach and squeezed him gently. Kyle, being very ticklish, giggled and inserted the DVD in the appropriate slot. Once the movie started, Kenny put his head against Kyle's neck and kissed it gently.

"You know, if you keep doing that, We won't be able to watch the movie." Kyle said as he giggled.  
"Well, we wouldn't want that, would we?" Kenny replied as he kissed Kyle's neck a second time.

Kyle giggled some more, but Kenny finally stopped kissing his neck, instead simply taking deep breaths from time to time, taking in all the scents that Kyle had.

* * *

The boys' movie was interrupted several minutes later by Ike finally getting up. At that moment, Kyle moved Kenny off of his chair and onto a second chair. Kyle then took his place on his chair, just in time for his brother to knock on his bedroom door.

"Kyle? You in there, bro?"  
"Yeah, Ike! You can come in!"

Ike opened the door and immediately noticed Kenny.

"Hey, Kenny."  
"Hi!"  
"So... what did you want to talk about, bro?" Kyle asked nervously.  
"I just wanted to check if you were still home... Why was your door closed?"  
"I... Uh... I... didn't want to wake you up."  
"Right... And what are you doing here so early, Kenny? I thought you never woke up before noon."  
"I had some trouble sleeping."  
"OK... Well, I'm going to the bathroom. See you guys later."  
"Later." Kenny and Kyle said in unison.

Once Ike was out of hearing range, Kyle turned to Kenny.

"Did you really have trouble sleeping?"  
"I... I had another nightmare."  
"What about?"  
"I can't remember most of it, but it was about Cthulhu."  
"Do you think it's like the other nightmares you told me about? Do you think it'll come true?"  
"I doubt it. I... stopped Cartman. It's probably just a regular nightmare."  
"Well, if it happens again, let me know, alright?"  
"I will."

* * *

Outside Kyle's home, a police car had arrived. The driver hadn't turned on the sirens, for fear that Kenny might escape. He rang the bell.

"Who's that?" Kenny asked.  
"Dunno. Nobody's supposed to show up."  
"I'll check it out."

Kenny slowly made his way downstairs. He opened the door and was immediately turned around and handcuffed by the police officer.

"Kenneth McCormick, you're under arrest for the murder of Eric Cartman."


	3. Desperate Measures

Just letting you know that I asked a friend for some help regarding the USA court system, but I couldn't find enough information to make this trial as realistic as possible. It was also extremely boring to read all the info and watch all the videos, so, after much consideration, I decided to go with my own version of a court system.  
To emphasize: this is just **my** version of a court system. For the most part, it is not what actually happens when you're charged with a crime.  
**Warning: This chapter contains some graphic stuff that probably shouldn't be read by anyone under eighteen (18). If you're not over eighteen (18) years old, I recommend you skip this chapter, or, at the very least, skip the part with gore in it. I have placed a warning before and after it, so you know which part to skip.**

* * *

Kenny was quickly taken to the South Park precinct and locked up in their jail.

"_Locked up again... Only this time I deserve it... I belong here._"

Kyle followed him and demanded to see him, to no avail.

"He has the right to visitors, doesn't he?!" Kyle yelled.  
"Please lower your voice, sir."  
"Just fucking answer me! Why can't I see him?"  
"We're afraid he'll try to escape."  
"How?! He's locked up in a cell, and only you guys have the key!"  
"Sir, we just-"  
"That's fine, officer. Let him visit his friend."  
"But, sir-"

Kyle didn't wait to hear the officer's complaint. Instead, he rushed to the place where Kenny was being held. Kenny was sitting in the bed, completely unaware of his friend's presence.

"Psst! Kenny!"  
"Kyle? What are you doing here?"  
"I came to talk to you. They wouldn't tell me anything out there, but I figured you would."  
"...They got me, Kyle. Apparently there was a video camera where I... And they found it."  
"How... Didn't you see the camera?"  
"I could barely think. I'm not surprised if there were things I didn't notice."  
"...Kenny, I'm getting you out of here."  
"You can't... I belong here."  
"What do you mean?"  
"You know what I mean!"

Kenny looked around to see if there were any video cameras before finishing his thoughts. Once he realized that there were a few, he signaled for Kyle to move closer and whispered in his ear.

"I killed Cartman. It's my fault. Being here... It's right. I deserve it."  
"Kenny, please don't make me lose you."  
"Kyle, don't interfere. Just... accept it."  
"No. I'm not going to 'accept it'... I... I don't know what I'd do without you, Kenny."  
"I love you too, Kyle, but... it's not right. We can't just break the rules without expecting consequences."  
"I'm not going to break any rules. I'm just going to save you."

Kenny wanted to oppose Kyle, but the latter simply kissed him on the lips to shut him up and left. Kenny yelled at him to come back, partly because he simply did not want to be alone, but Kyle didn't pay attention to him.

* * *

Kyle ran to where he knew his parents were on their date and approached his father. Sheila almost caused a massive scene, but Gerald managed to calm her down.

"Kyle, why did you show up here? You know how your mother is."  
"Dad, Kenny's in jail. They're accusing him of having killed Cartman."  
"What?"  
"It's stupid, I know, but... I thought that you, being a lawyer and all, could help him out of this one."  
"Kyle, I-"  
"Please, dad... He's a friend, and he's in trouble."

Gerald looked into his son's emerald-green eyes. He looked like he was about to break down in tears. Gerald simply didn't have the heart to turn him down.

"...OK, Kyle. I'll talk to the police as soon as I can."  
"Thanks, dad."

Kyle wrapped his arms around his father and squeezed him gently, prompting him to smile.

"I'll leave you and mom alone now."

* * *

Kenny sat in his cell for some time, alternating between working out, daydreaming about Kyle and deep sadness due to having killed Cartman. During a particularly long session of thinking about Kyle, detective Matt made an appearance.

"Kenny, Kenny, Kenny... Why did you do it? Even if you didn't like Eric, that was no reason to kill him."

Kenny raised his head and stared at Matt for a few seconds. Even though he felt he deserved to be in jail, the last thing on his mind was to confess to having killed Cartman to anyone who could punish him for it.

"...I don't know what you're talking about."  
"Come on, Kenny! I saw the tape! I saw you murder another human being in cold blood. He was down! There was no need to kill him."

Kenny lowered his head and tried to shut out Matt's voice.

"And what's with the hood? You were clearly trying to hide your identity."  
"What do you want?"  
"I want to understand why you did it."  
"...Even if I had done it, you have no idea what Cartman was like. He... He was a fucking **monster**! He once killed his own father and fed him to his half-brother, along with his half-brother's mother. He gave Kyle AIDS. He did things you can't even imagine."

Matt took a step back. He hadn't been a detective for very long, but, if Kenny's story was true, Cartman truly was one of the worst humans he had ever investigated.  
Kenny waited for the detective to say something else. However, Matt simply left Kenny alone, so that both of them could think.

* * *

Matt sat in silence at his desk, thinking about what Kenny had told him about Cartman's behavior. He didn't want to believe in any of it, but, having seen Kenny lie about killing Cartman, he knew he was telling the truth about that.

"_Even if he **did** deserve it... Kenny had no right to kill him. He should've informed us about his friend's... activities. How come nobody told us before, anyway?_"

* * *

As Matt struggled with the ethical ramifications of Cartman's murder, Kenny wept in his cell, overwhelmed by sadness. He felt sad that he had killed Cartman, even though he had had no other choice, and sad that Kyle had left him alone. He tried to focus on Kyle, since thinking about Kyle leaving him was slightly better than thinking about the repercussions of Cartman's death, since the former involved Kyle.

"_Maybe he's finally decided that killing Cartman can't be forgiven... No matter how much he loves me... Although... Kyle said he was going to 'save me', whatever that means... He hasn't given up on me yet... But he should have._"

* * *

Kyle walked home slowly from the restaurant. He wanted some time alone, to think, and he knew that, if he went home, Ike would most likely not give him that time.

"_I wonder if dad will be able to save Kenny... I sure hope so... Maybe I should go back to Kenny's side... but then again, he might not want to see me after I took off like that... What to do, what to do?..._"

* * *

Kyle decided to visit Kenny one last time for the day. As he expected, Kenny had many questions; most importantly what Kyle was planning in order to save him.

"Are you gonna break me out or something?"  
"Don't be silly. I... asked my dad for help."  
"And you think he can help me?"  
"Well, he **is** a lawyer."  
"When's the last time you dad even looked at a law book?"  
"It's just like riding a bike, Kenny. He'll save you."

Kenny signaled, and Kyle approached the bars.

"I don't think I deserve to be saved..." Kenny whispered.  
"You're not a bad person." Kyle replied as he lowered his voice. "You were put in an impossible situation and chose the lesser of two evils. I would've done the same thing."  
"Don't lie to me, Kyle. You would never do what I did... I know you. You couldn't have."  
"...You're right. I wouldn't do what you did, but that doesn't mean you're a bad person. You're a good guy. Trust me on that... And you **don't** deserve to be locked in here."  
"I'm sorry, Kyle, but... I just don't believe that."

Kenny's tears started rolling down his cheeks, earning a kiss from Kyle.

"You're a good guy, Kenny. And... I'll always love you. Even if you don't believe you're a good guy, believe **that**."  
"I..." Kenny sighed. "Thank you, Kyle."

Kenny approached Kyle for another kiss, but he was interrupted by a police officer.

"Visiting hours are over. It's time to go."  
"I'll be back tomorrow, Kenny. I promise."

"I can't wait to be able to hold you again." Kenny thought.

"Come on, let's go." the officer said as he pulled Kyle away.

Kenny watched Kyle leave through the narrow door and lied down on his new bed.

"_Kyle... I'll always love you too._"

* * *

"Wake up, McCormick!"

"_Who's there?_"

"Wake up!"

Kenny felt a sharp pain in his ribs, presumably from a kick, and got up as quickly as he could.

"I'm up! I'm up! What do you want?"

Kenny opened his eyes and saw a man dressed as a prison guard.

"It's time."  
"Time for what?"  
"For your execution."

Kenny felt a cold shiver run down his spine, yet he also felt relieved. He breathed deeply and let the guard handcuff him.

"Come on, let's go."

The guard led Kenny through a hallway. There were prisoners on both sides of the hallway, staring and commenting on Kenny, who was almost in tears.

"_I deserve this... for killing Cartman._"

Kenny was uncuffed and strapped to a chair. He looked around and saw his parents, siblings, some of his friends, and Kyle. He winced in pain as the IV's were inserted into his arms, but he kept looking at Kyle, who, at this time, was crying.

"McCormick, make your final statement."

Kenny hadn't given his final words any thought, yet somehow he knew exactly what to say. He started by admitting to having killed Cartman, and his regret for doing so. Then he moved on to apologize to the people present, one group at a time, until he reached Kyle.

"Kyle..." Kenny said. "I'll always love you."

Kyle cried harder, and everyone started whispering. Kenny told the guard he was done, and the procedure started. Kenny stared in horror at the liquid entering his veins, then blacked out. A few seconds after that, his heart and lungs stopped, and he was dead.

* * *

"_Where am I?_"

Kenny opened his eyes again and found himself floating in darkness. He could hear Kyle's faint sobs and tried to go toward them, but they seemed to be coming from all around him. Kenny tried calling out for Kyle.

"Kyle! Where are you?"

A small portal appeared in front of Kenny and showed him Kyle, crying in his bed.

"Kyle! Can you hear me?"

Kyle suddenly stopped sobbing and looked around himself.

"Who's there?"  
"It's me, Kenny!"

Kyle wiped away his tears and opened his bedroom door, where Ike awaited.

"It's me, bro... Listen, I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for Kenny."  
"It's his fault... He killed Cartman... I tried telling myself otherwise – hell, I even convinced Kenny otherwise – but it was his own fault. He did it to himself."

"_Kyle..._" Kenny thought. "_Why didn't you tell me?_"

"You said he had no choice."  
"I know... but I was lying... not to you, but to myself. We always have a choice. Kenny made his. And that's why... And that's why he deserved to die."

Kenny closed his eyes and started crying. When he opened them again, the portal was gone. He sighed in relief and wiped away his tears.

"_It's not real... It can't be real._"

"Oh, it's very real." said an eerie voice.  
"W-Who's there?!"

Kenny felt an icy fear envelop him while looking frantically for the source of the eerie voice. He saw a pair of familiar red eyes and his fear was replaced with anger.

"Cthulhu..."  
"Do you really think you stopped me just because you killed Eric? You're as deluded as he was! He thought he could control me again... He was merely a pawn."  
"I'll stop you, no matter what it takes. Do you hear me?! I'm going to kill you!"

Cthulhu laughed at Kenny's certainty, whereas the latter repeated his final statement several times before waking up in his cell, covered in sweat.

"Another nightmare... I thought I had stopped him when I killed Cartman... I only wish I had remembered that I can't die when I was trapped in that nightmare."

Although Kenny was scared that Cthulhu was still going to be revived, a different thought took hold of his mind.

"_Kyle... He said I deserved to die... Maybe he's right..._"

* * *

Several hours later, Kyle woke up. Kenny had been awake the whole time, unable to fall asleep after his nightmare. Kyle looked around and realized that his room had been moved, and his window was open. His heart started speeding up, but he tried to stay calm.

"_Maybe it's just my imagination..._"

Kyle noticed a small yellow note attached to his computer screen and approached it.

"_What the hell is this?..._" Kyle thought as he picked up the note and read it.

"Hello, Mr. Broflovski. We've been watching you for some time now. We do apologize for breaking into your room, but we wanted to assure you that, while we can harm you, we won't. Should you ever need our services, just look in your jacket pocket for our card. Be sure to call as soon as you need us."

Kyle opened his closet and checked his jacket pocket, and, just as the note said, the card was there.

"Call us. 555-0123"

Kyle placed the card in one of his desk drawers and went into the bathroom.

"_Probably just some morons who get off on breaking into teenagers' rooms._"

* * *

**EIGHT MONTHS LATER**

Kenny had been locked up for almost eight months. Kyle had visited him as often as his schedule and parents allowed, but it didn't do anything to help with Kenny's thoughts of self-worthlessness, or his belief that Kyle wasn't speaking the truth when he said he had forgiven Kenny for Cartman's murder. Kenny's family had also visited, but to a lesser degree than Kyle.  
The police had managed to find Cartman's body, as well as the gun he had been murdered with. They quickly concluded that it was Kenny who had pulled the trigger.  
Kenny's trial was just mere months away, and, after analyzing the evidence the prosecution had, Kyle's father became thoroughly convinced that there was no chance that Kenny would be found not guilty. After realizing this, Gerald visited Kenny, along with Kyle, in order to tell him the truth. For security reasons, Kenny was only allowed one visitor at a time, and Gerald went in first.

"So... I'm doomed." Kenny said.  
"I'm so sorry, Kenny. I wish I had better news to give you."  
"What do you think they're going to do to me?"  
"Well... The truth is..."  
"...What?" Kenny asked impatiently.  
"Look..." Gerald sighed. "Worst case is you get the death penalty."

"_Right. As if they could kill **me**._"

"And the best case?"  
"Life in prison without parole."

"_I honestly don't know which is worse. If I die, I'll just come back, and then I'll have to be on the run for the rest of my life. If they stick me in prison, I'll be spending a lot of time with some really bad people._"

"...Did you tell Kyle?"

Gerald shook his head.

"Good. Don't."  
"I couldn't, even if I wanted to. Confidentiality and all that."  
"Thanks... Is that everything? I'd really like to see Kyle now."  
"Sure, Kenny. I'll be outside if you need anything."

Gerald left and Kyle walked in just a few seconds afterward.

"Kenny! I'm so sorry I haven't been able to visit these last few days. My dad wanted to come here to tell you about the case, and he only had time today."  
"Why couldn't you come before?"  
"He said he would take me here, and I thought he would have time before today... I'm sorry."  
"It's OK, Kyle."  
"How have you been?"  
"Been missing you... a lot. My parents don't have enough money to get me out of here, until my trial anyway, so I really only look forward to your visits."  
"Don't your parents or your brother or your sister ever visit?"  
"Sure, every once in a while... but not nearly as much as you do."  
"Doesn't that make you sad?"  
"A bit, but... I think it's better if they don't visit... So I don't have to lie to them about what I did."

Kyle was about to contradict Kenny, as he always did, but was so sick and tired of it that he decided to simply lower his head. Kenny also lowered his, and the boys stayed like that for several seconds, until Kyle remembered to ask an important question.

"Did my dad tell you how your case is going?"  
"Of course."  
"And...?"  
"And what?"  
"How is your case going?"  
"O-Oh... Um... Uh... E-Everything's fine!" Kenny lied.  
"...Kenny, don't lie to me. You **suck** at lying to me. Just tell me the truth. I can handle it."  
"Well..."  
"Yes...?"  
"Death penalty or life in prison without parole." Kenny said as quickly as he could.  
"WHAT?!"

The guards outside heard Kyle's scream and rushed to the door.

"Sir! Is everything alright?"  
"Yeah, yeah!" Kyle yelled.  
"Should've kept your voice down, Ky-"  
"Shut up, Kenny! How can you stand there and joke around when your life is about to end?"  
"Kyle... I... I know how serious my situation is."  
"But you just don't care?"  
"I do care; trust me on that. The last thing I want is to leave you alone."  
"Then what is it?"  
"I... I just don't want **you** to worry. I'm trying to stay calm so that **you** will also stay calm."  
"Kenny, I'm not a little kid. You can't just act like nothing's wrong when we both know that's not the case. Besides, acting like you are just makes me worry even more."  
"I'm sorry, Kyle... I didn't mean to worry you... I'm sure your dad will figure something out."  
"Do you really believe that?"  
"...Yes."

Kyle glared at Kenny for several seconds, looking for even the slightest hint of deception. When he was sure Kenny was truthful, he signaled for him to get closer.

"I love you, Kenny." Kyle whispered. "Never forget that."  
"It's the only thing keeping my spirits up in here."  
"Kyle!" Gerald yelled. "We have to go!"  
"Coming, dad! Kenny, I'll be back tomorrow, alright?"  
"Thanks, Kyle."

Kyle kissed Kenny for the first and only time of the day and left. Kenny sighed as his friend walked out the door.

"_Kyle... One day I'll be out of here, and when that happens... we'll be together again. For good._"

* * *

Several hours later, almost everyone had gone to sleep. Kyle had been awake all night, still thinking about what Kenny had told him.

"_Life in prison or death... I wish there was something I could do to help... Wait! Is... is that card still here?_"

Kyle walked over to his desk, closed his eyes took a deep breath.

"_Please be here, please be here..._"

He opened the first drawer on the right and opened his eyes. He could almost hear his spirit break when he realized that the card wasn't there anymore.

"_It's not here... Fuck! Why did I throw it away? If only I could remember the number... I think it was... 555... 555-0123... Is that it?_"

Kyle picked up his phone and slowly dialed the number. He was unsure of how whomever answered the call could help, but he was too desperate to care. After ringing half a dozen times, the call was finally accepted.

"Hello?" Kyle said.  
"Hello, Mr. Broflovski." a distorted voice replied. "We've been expecting your call for... quite some time now."  
"I... Who are you?"  
"We can help you and Mr. McCormick, if you'll let us."  
"What do you want in return?"  
"It's simple, Mr. Broflovski. You're a genius. We want to borrow your intelligence."

"_Is that all?_"

Kyle knew he should've been more suspicious, but his concern toward Kenny was overriding everything else.

"What do you want me to do?"

Kyle heard excited whispering, but, due to the distortion, he couldn't tell what was being said.

"_I hope I didn't just agree to hurt someone..._"

"Thank you, Mr. Broflovski. Instructions are being sent to your email address. Follow them, and, once you're finished, we will help you with Mr. McCormick."  
"How do I know you're telling the truth?"  
"You don't." the voice laughed.  
"Look, there are some things I won't do."  
"Don't worry, Mr. Broflovski. We just need your help to find something."  
"And what is this 'something'?"  
"Don't sweat the details, Mr. Broflovski... From where we stand, we're the only chance you have."

While Kyle's gut told him to tell the stranger to go to hell, his heart spoke louder than his gut. He wanted to help Kenny, no matter the cost to himself.

"...Fine. I'll help you find... whatever it is."  
"Thank you. We'll be waiting for your call, Mr. Broflovski."  
"Wait, I-"

Kyle's new acquaintance hung up the phone before he could ask anything else. Kyle stared at his phone for a few seconds before putting it down and turning on his computer.

"_I need to start working on this right away, if I want to save Kenny._"

Kyle opened his email and, as the voice had said, there was a new email in his inbox. The thing that upset Kyle the most was the fact that the email had been sent from his own account, and there was no evidence that anyone had done it.

"_How did they get in my email? Nevermind... It doesn't matter. All that matters is Kenny. I have to save him... I owe him that, and more._"

Kyle read the email slowly, so as to not make any mistakes.

"Hello, Mr. Broflovski."

"_What's with the 'Mr.' bullshit?_"

"We have for you a list of locations, times and dates. Each location appears random, but there **is** a pattern here, and all we want... is for you to find out what that pattern is. Once you've done that, and we have both the formula and the next location, we will set Mr. McCormick free."

"_Are they in the police? Is detective... what's-his-name... in with them? How are they gonna 'set him free'?_"

Kyle pondered about the methods of the people he had just agreed to work for, but that soon became irrelevant.

"_How they do it doesn't matter. I just... I just want him back._"

Kyle cried for several seconds before focusing on the task at hand.

"_I have to be strong. For him._"

Kyle took a look at the coordinates. There were several hundred of them, and, like the email said, they appeared random, but Kyle had to find a pattern, or Kenny's life would be over.

* * *

Kyle worked on the information he had received all night, but couldn't find any connection whatsoever. He was still working on it when his parents woke up. When he heard them getting up, Kyle quickly turned off his computer and pretended to be asleep.

"_I can work on it tomorrow night... now I just need some sleep._"

Kyle woke up a few hours later to the sound of his alarm clock, but didn't get up right away. He was still exhausted from having stayed up all night.

"_C'mon, Kyle, get up... Get up..._"

Kyle slowly lifted one arm and pushed the snooze button a few times, until the alarm stopped.

"_I'm just gonna stay here... a little while longer._"

Kyle was still focused on trying to find a connection between all the information he had received. He was calculating everything he could think of, to no avail. There was simply no connection he could see.

"_Maybe someone just wants to fuck with me... There's no connection! It's all just... random stuff._"

* * *

After a few minutes, the alarm rang again. This time, Kyle managed to get up and turned it off completely.

"_Time to get ready for school..._"

* * *

Meanwhile, as Kyle showered, Kenny started working out. He hadn't been able to get much sleep in jail, due to his constant nightmares. He was frightened to the point of not wanting to go to sleep, yet he knew he had no other choice. If he was sleep deprived, he might do something stupid, like confessing to having killed Cartman.

"_I just gotta keep working out and keep my mouth shut... If I get out of here, Kyle's gonna love my sweet abs... That reminds me, I should show him the results of my workouts when he visits again... Why haven't I done that before?_"

Kenny stopped working out for just a few seconds, but it was long enough to let more intrusive thoughts into his head.

"_Those nightmares... Cthulhu is close. I... I can feel it._"

* * *

Later that day, once Kyle's classes were over, Kenny awaited his return, to no avail. Time passed, with Kenny getting more and more desperate. After several hours, Kenny gave up on Kyle and started working out to take his mind off of him. Instead, he focused on Cthulhu.

"_If Cthulhu is released again, how do I stop him? Cartman said that only an immortal can kill another immortal, but I don't know what to do... If only Bradley were here... He'd be able to stop Cthulhu, like he did before... Dammit! I wish Kyle was here... He'd know what to do._"

* * *

Unbeknownst to Kenny, the only reason Kyle wasn't visiting him was because he was busy working on the only way he knew of to save Kenny, although he wasn't having any luck with it.

"_Fuck! I wish I was smarter... Why didn't these morons get someone else to figure this crap out?_"

Kyle's vision was getting blurry, so he closed his eyes. In doing so, tears started rolling down his cheeks. Not from sadness, but simply because he had been staring at his computer screen for far too long.

"_I can't stop working... This is Kenny's life we're talking about here! It doesn't matter if I'm too exhausted to think... Kenny needs me._"

Kyle opened his eyes again and stared at the screen.

"_Hang on... Maybe I need to go a little further than just staring at these numbers. Maybe the reason I can't see a connection is because I can't see where these things happened._"

Kyle opened an old image file he had on his computer: a world map. He edited the image and started adding points on all the appropriate spots.

"_No fucking way..._"

Kyle was finally able to see the pattern. Each sequence of three coordinates formed a perfect triangle, with the fourth location in the exact center of it. Each triangle also appeared to be of random size.

"_How come nobody saw this before? Doesn't matter. I have to report this and get Kenny out of jail._"

Kyle quickly drew out his cellphone and dialed the same number he had used to contact the mysterious organization. As he expected, a distorted voice answered.

"Hello, Mr. Broflovski. I hope this call is to tell us you've found the next location."  
"I found the pattern. Now I want you to get Kenny out of jail, like you promised."  
"I'm afraid we'll need the location first."

Kyle thought about pushing for Kenny's release, but he thought that, if he pushed too hard, Kenny wouldn't be released, and all his work would've been for naught.

"Look... the truth is, I don't know exactly where it will be. It can be one of two locations."  
"That's... unfortunate. It seems that you do not want your friend to live after all."  
"No! Please, just listen... The pattern is triangles. The latest formed one side of a triangle, and the next one will be the rest. I just... I just don't know where it will be."  
"That's not what we asked for, Mr. Broflovski."  
"Please... If you're willing to wait a little longer, I can get you the exact location. After each triangle, the next location is always at the exact center, usually within a couple of months, and the end of the triangle should appear within a week or two."

The voice turned away from the phone and started chatting with other voices, in an incomprehensible language.

"Alright, Mr. Broflovski. We will get Mr. McCormick out of jail... as soon as we arrive at the location."

"_Kenny might be dead by then!_"

"That's fine by me." Kyle lied.  
"Thank you for your cooperation."

The voice hung up, and Kyle sighed from exhaustion. Speaking to the unknown stranger was just as demanding as staying up all night, if not more so. Kyle knew that one wrong word, and whoever was on the other end would never help him set Kenny free.

* * *

The following afternoon, Kyle visited Kenny, as he intended, and explained his absence the previous day. Kenny was facing the wall, as he had been hurt by Kyle's absence.

"I was... taking care of something."  
"And what is this 'something'?"  
"I-I... It's personal, alright?!"  
"OK... Don't yell at me."  
"Sorry... I just don't wanna talk about it."  
"I'm sure you didn't come here just to... not talk about whatever it is." Kenny said as he turned around. "What **did** you wanna talk about?"  
"I just came to see you. I wanted to apologize for not being here before."  
"It's alright." Kenny lied. "I understand."

Kyle could tell Kenny was lying, but he didn't say anything.  
The boys stood awkwardly, not sure what to say to each other, until Kenny remembered something.

"Hey, I want you to check something out."  
"What is it?"

Kenny took off his shirt, showing Kyle his upper body and flexed his muscles. He was a lot more muscular than the last time Kyle had seen him shirtless, yet not too much so as to make Kyle dislike his appearance.

"Wow!"  
"I know, right?! I've been working out every day since they put me here."  
"And you didn't show me this until now?"  
"It kinda slipped my mind... You like?"  
"Very much so."  
"I'm glad." Kenny replied as he smiled.

Kyle smiled back at Kenny and asked the guards for a chair to sit in. He was planning on staying with Kenny for as long as possible, but he didn't want to be standing for all that time.

"Here you go sir." one of the guards replied as he handed Kyle a chair.  
"Do you have anything else to show me?" Kyle asked as he sat down.  
"Nope. Do you?"  
"Not at all."

"_At least nothing that I want to talk about._" Kyle thought.

Kenny and Kyle chatted for what seemed like hours on various topics, until one of the guards told Kyle that visiting hours were almost over. At that point, Kenny revealed something to Kyle.

"You know... I haven't seen a sunrise or sunset in months... If I get out, the first thing I'm gonna do is taking you on a romantic trip to the best sunrises and sunsets I can find."

Kyle smiled and giggled at Kenny's romantic side.

"Thanks, Kenny."  
"You should go. I don't want your mother to forbid you from coming here."  
"I'll be back tomorrow. Don't worry."

Kyle kissed Kenny goodbye and left, turning around to face Kenny every few steps, until he was gone. Kenny sat down on his bed and sighed.

"_I wonder what Kyle was taking care of that was so important so as not to visit me..._"

* * *

**TWO MONTHS LATER**

Kyle spent every second he didn't use to talk to Kenny or go to school researching the locations he had received by email. Most locations seemed like just random places, but others had some lore attached. Stories of sailors seeing a large city which then suddenly disappeared. Sometimes hundreds of people reported seeing the same thing, but there was never a trace of anything once scientists arrived at the scene. Kyle quickly concluded that either they were all lying, hallucinating or something else was going on. Something he should look into.  
After staying up several nights in a row every few weeks, Kyle's grades dropped quickly. His mother was certain that it was due to him constantly visiting Kenny, but Gerald assured her otherwise.  
After almost two months, by cross-referencing the sightings with other myths and legends, coupled together with what he already knew, Kyle figured out what the locations were.

"_They're looking for R'lyeh... I'm sure of it._"

The reason for having Kyle investigate the locations was obvious – they wanted to find and release Cthulhu. Kyle now had a choice to make. He could either not give the strange people the final location, and have Kenny go to prison, or he could keep his mouth shut, and have them release Cthulhu. The latter option also came with the very real risk that thousands, if not millions, of people would die. The third location had already appeared, and the fourth was just days away. Kyle didn't have much time to make his decision.

* * *

Kyle visited Kenny one last time before his trial and asked how he felt about Kyle's tough decision, without giving away what that decision was. Visiting hours were almost over, so Kyle had to make it quick. There was no subtle way to approach the subject, therefore he spoke directly without caring about the consequences.

"Kenny... If I could get you out, but a lot of people could be hurt, would you want me to?"  
"What are you talking about?" Kenny asked, smiling and laughing nervously.  
"It's just... a hypothetical."  
"Well... if there really was no other choice, I think I'd rather just die."

"_In fact, I already went to Hell once to save you guys. Or at least I acted thinking that I would be sent back to Hell... I'm glad it didn't happen, because, now, I have you._"

"Why did you want to know?" Kenny asked.  
"I was... just wondering."

"_Seems like a weird thing to be wondering, but whatever..._" Kenny thought.

"So, how's school?"  
"You've never asked me that before..."  
"I'm curious, Kyle."  
"...Truth is... things... aren't going too well for me."  
"What's wrong?"  
"I haven't been getting much sleep."  
"Why not?"  
"I... I've been reading some stuff..."

Kenny could tell Kyle wasn't going to talk about it anymore, even if he asked, so he decided to keep his mouth shut and change the subject.

"So, how's your brother?"  
"Ike?"  
"That's the one. Unless you have another brother I don't know of. After all, I've been here a while."  
"Nope. I just have the one. Anyway..."

The boys talked for a few minutes before Kyle was told to leave. As usual, Kyle kissed Kenny goodbye before leaving.

* * *

**TWO DAYS LATER**

Kyle arrived at the courtroom a few minutes before it was scheduled to start. He tried to identify the people there. He saw his mother, Stan, Butters, Butters' parents, Tweek and detective Matt. He didn't recognize the people sitting behind the prosecution, the prosecutor himself, or even the jury.

"_Where did they get these people? I've never seen them before in my life!_"

Kyle took a seat directly behind Kenny, who turned around and smiled.

"Thanks for coming." Kenny whispered.  
"You're welcome, but you should really pay attention to this."

Kenny looked at the judge, who was staring right back at him in anger.

"Sorry." Kenny motioned with his lips.

The judge shook his head and sighed.

"_Fucking kids..._"

* * *

After a few minutes of waiting around, the trial started. The judge went through all the formalities, much to Kenny's boredom, but Kyle was on pins and needles to find out what would happen to Kenny.

* * *

Once the formalities were over with, the prosecution presented their case. They didn't have much evidence, but what little evidence they had pointed irrevocably to Kenny.

"As you can see here, this piece of evidence is the most incriminating."

The prosecution started playing the video.

"Now, watch closely. The video is in black and white, and there's no sound, but I think this will settle any doubts you might have."

The poor quality of the video was disregarded by the jury once Kenny's face appeared on it. Everyone in the courtroom started whispering to each other just as the video ended.

"_That's not how it happened!_" Kenny thought.

Kenny could overhear a lot of "He did it!" and other such comments, but not from Kyle. He turned around to face his friend and saw Kyle showing nothing but concern.

"Order!" the judge yelled. "Order!"

Everyone stopped talking and simply traded looks. Kenny turned to face the judge, who was once again staring at him in anger.  
Since the prosecution was done with the evidence they moved on to witnesses.

"The prosecution calls detective Matthew Campbell to the stand."

Matt stood up and walked slowly toward the witness stand. He looked nervous, as if it had been the first time he had done something like that.

"Now, detective Campbell, you were the one to come across the tape, is that correct?"  
"Yes."  
"And were you also the one to identify Kenneth McCormick as being the hooded figure on this tape?"  
"Yes. I had previously seen the suspect at the hospital, and I had some officers sent to his house once I saw the tape."  
"And did they find the suspect at his house?"  
"No. He had left for a friend's house, Kyle Broflovski's house, and that's where he was arrested."  
"No more questions for his witness, your honor."

The prosecutor sat back down and smirked to himself. Kenny glanced at him and felt nothing but anger.

"_He knows this isn't true._" Kenny thought. "_Just what is going on here?_"

Gerald rose from his seat and paced around in front of detective Matt, trying to come up with questions to ask him that would make Kenny seem less guilty. Everyone watched him walk around for several seconds, until the judge lost his patience.

"Any day now, Mr. Broflovski."  
"Right... Mr. Campbell, how can you be sure that the person on this video is, in fact, my client?"  
"Well... I looked at the video. Everyone here did. It's blatantly obvious."  
"But the video is of exceedingly poor quality. No sound, no color... Couldn't it be that the hooded figure is someone who just looks like my client?"  
"In such a small town? I think not."  
"But is it possible?"  
"Of course. It's also possible it was the hand of God at work. But which is more likely?"

The jury whispered amongst themselves. Gerald glanced at them and started sweating. It had been a few years since he had done any actual lawyer work, so he was still somewhat rusty.

"_Come on..._" Kyle thought. "_Please, dad... Save him._"

* * *

The trial went on with Gerald losing the case at every turn. Everything he tried just tightened the noose around Kenny's neck. Once the first part was over and everyone was waiting around for the second part, Kyle made his decision. If his dad couldn't save Kenny, he would have to talk to someone who could.

* * *

Kyle ran home, much to Kenny's surprise and sadness, and turned on his computer. He wrote down the coordinates, as well as his best estimate as to when R'lyeh would appear there, and dialed the strange number again. As usual, a distorted voice answered the phone.

"Hello, Mr. Broflovski. I take it you've decided to accept our offer?"  
"I... Can you help Kenny?"  
"Indeed we can. All we need is the location."  
"I'll give you the location **and** the time, if you set Kenny free right now."  
"...That's not how it works, Mr. Broflovski. We get the location first, and **then** we set your... friend free."

Kyle sensed weakness from the distorted voice and decided to put pressure on them.

"...If you want the location, you'll have to set Kenny free first."

The distorted voice sighed, making Kyle feel like he had won.

"Fine. Coordinates are being sent to your email address. Be there in ten minutes."

"_Finally!_" Kyle thought."_I'm going to save you, Kenny... I promise you that._"

Kyle memorized both the location where R'lyeh would appear and the time, before burning his paper, in case the people on the other end of the phone decided to take the information from him and leave Kenny in jail.

"_Now I have to go to wherever it is that they want me to go... I just hope it's worth it._"

* * *

After about five minutes of running, Kyle arrived at the meeting spot. It was deserted, until a large car arrived. The doors on the right side were opened as soon as the car stopped. The front seat had a man with a gun, who was pointing it at Kyle, and the back seat had an empty spot and a second man next to it.

"Get in." one of the men said.

"_Well, this is it..._"

Kyle slowly went inside the car and closed the door. The driver accelerated quickly, before Kyle had the time to put on his seat belt, and all the doors were locked. Kyle could feel a cold shiver running down his spine, but ignored it and tried to relax.

"Put this on."

The man sitting next to Kyle handed him a bag.

"Why?"  
"Stop the car."

The driver slammed the breaks and the car stopped with a screech. Kyle almost hit his head against the seat in front of him, but everyone else seemed perfectly fine.

"If you want us to help your friend, do as we say. If not, you can always leave."  
"...Fine."

Kyle reluctantly put on the bag, and the car left South Park.

"_I hope this works..._"

* * *

Meanwhile, back in South Park, the trial had resumed. Kenny looked around himself frantically, trying to find Kyle, to no avail.

"Kenny." Gerald whispered. "Stop looking around suspiciously and pay attention to the trial."  
"S-Sorry." Kenny whispered back. "I was just looking for Kyle."  
"I understand, but you can't do that now. Pay attention."

Kenny looked at the witness stand, where detective Matt was, once again. Although he tried his best to pay attention, the trial was simply too boring for him, and he zoned out, still thinking about Kyle.

"_Kyle... Where are you?_"

* * *

**Author's note: This (below) is the part that has gore in it. I highly recommend you skip this if you're under eighteen (18) years old and/or if you're highly sensitive to more mature contents.**

Kyle had lost track of time and the turns he took by the time he arrived at his destination.

"Get out of the car." the man next to Kyle said as he took off his bag.

Kyle strained his eyes due to the light and took off his seat belt before exiting the car. Once he got used to the difference in lighting, he wished he had stayed with Kenny. The horror he saw was enough to make him throw up on the spot. There were people cutting off each other's limbs with chainsaws, whereas others were consuming and fornicating with the still-warm bodies of the deceased. Some were using their blood and others' blood to write messages on the walls that Kyle couldn't understand, save for the words "Cthulhu" and "R'lyeh". The smell of blood, sweat, tears and sex was thick in the air, intoxicating Kyle. The people were all screaming loudly enough to make one lose their mind, so Kyle tried to block out the screams with his hands, although it didn't work. Their screams pierced his skull and burrowed deep in his brain, disorienting him.

"Move it!" one of the men yelled.

Kyle closed his eyes and tried walking in a straight line, all while covering his ears as best as he could. The one thing he couldn't block, even partially, was the smell. Every breath he took was saturated with all the strange and disgusting smells in the room. The blood underneath his feet was sticky, and he could feel it with every step he took, until he passed through a large door that closed behind him and blocked all the sounds, smells and sights he had been assailed with.

**Author's note: The gore is over.**

Kyle was led to a small room that had a globe in the center of it, as well as a desk on the wall opposite of the door. He was greeted by a tall man wearing a black suit and with tattoos on his hands and neck. When the man stretched his hand to greet Kyle, he also saw some tattoos around the man's wrist. The ones on his wrist were of symbols Kyle recognized as being Enochian. One of them looked like a half-finished heart, but the others just looked like random shapes. The others were of images Kyle identified, but didn't know what they meant, such as the symbol for spades and a skull.

"Welcome, Kyle. I hope what you saw back there didn't scare you too badly."

In response, Kyle simply stared at the ground with a frightened look on his face. He was still shaken up from what he had seen.

"Are you gonna leave me hanging here?"  
"S-Sorry."

Kyle shook the man's hand, and the latter introduced himself.

"My name is Roy. Welcome to our base."  
"W-Who are you?"  
"We are worshipers of the true gods of our universe – the great Old Ones. Our intent is to release them so that they can rule, as is their right."  
"I've read about the Old Ones... They want to rule, but not like you think. They will destroy everything and rebuild the universe in their image."  
"I know exactly what they want... You can't tell me you don't think it's beautiful. The new universe will rise from the ashes of the old one, like a phoenix. It will be infinitely better than what God himself made."  
"...You think the Old Ones know better than him?"  
"Indeed I do. Just look at what he created! Most of the universe is just empty space, unsuitable for any kind of life form to live in. The Old Ones will make it a paradise."

Kyle looked into Roy's eyes. His confidence and certainty were hypnotizing. Kyle had never seen anything like that except with Kenny. After what felt like an eternity, Kyle finally spoke.

"...I'd be lying if I said I didn't see the appeal... But I don't agree."  
"That's fine, Kyle. Look, we're in the process of saving Kenny, just like we promised."  
"How exactly are you going to do that? Your guy on the phone wasn't exactly clear about that."  
"It's simple. We tell the truth. You remember the video shown in court? It's a fake. We used doubles for both Eric and Kenny. Kenny's double will confess to the murder, and your... friend will be safe."

"_Why does everyone keep hesitating to call Kenny my friend?_"

"...And all you want in return is the location of R'lyeh, right?"  
"Well, not exactly... As we mentioned, you're a genius. What we want is your mind. Did you really think we didn't see the pattern in the locations after millennia of searching? We knew where it would be. We just needed you to be desperate enough to work with us?"  
"What do you want me to do?"  
"...You'll find out soon enough."

Kyle was beginning to feel uncomfortable once more. Images of what he had seen before entering Roy's office kept flashing in his head, mixed with all the sensations associated with them. Kyle closed his eyes and didn't notice when Roy called in some more guards to take him away.

"Make sure our... guest is comfortable."  
"Yes, sir!"

The guards put a bag over Kyle's head and dragged him away. He didn't even try to resist.

* * *

As Kyle was dragged away to a cell, Kenny started sweating bullets. He could tell Gerald was just delaying the inevitable, yet that wasn't what had him concerned. His biggest concern was that Kyle had left and didn't appear to be returning.

"_Where are you, Kyle?_"

Kenny turned to Gerald and started whispering.

"Where's Kyle?"  
"I don't know. He just... left. Now stop talking. I need to pay attention to this."

Kenny lowered his head and let his imagination run wild. He could see all the bad scenarios that could have happened to Kyle and became concerned. Finally, the judge declared another break, and Kenny quickly left the courtroom. He searched for Kyle in the bathrooms, glanced into other courtrooms, and even sat by the windows to see if Kyle was still in the vicinity of the building. He found nothing. Just as he was about to try to convince the guards who were posted at the exits to let him leave, a group of people approached him. One of them had a bag over his head and was about the same height as Kenny himself.

"You're Kenneth McCormick, correct?"  
"We are people who know the video shown in court is fake. We have here one of the men who helped create it."

The man who was speaking to Kenny snapped his fingers and the bag covering another man was removed. Kenny stared at him, wide-eyed. He was the spitting image of Kenny.

"Who's he?" Kenny asked.  
"This is the man who killed Eric Cartman's double in the video shown in court. He's going to confess to the murder of the real Eric Cartman, and you will be set free."  
"...No. I'm not going to let someone else go down for what I did."  
"We're not giving you a choice."

The man handed Kenny a cellphone that had a picture of Kyle sitting in a cell. Kenny ran his finger across the phone to see the next picture, which was of Kyle brushing his teeth, still in the cell. The other pictures were of Kyle performing various actions, all in his cell.

"What the fuck is this?!"  
"Your friend, Kyle, is in our custody. If you don't want to see him hurt, you will do as we ask."

Kenny lowered his head and turned around. He tried to think of the pros and cons to agreeing to what the strange people were offering. He barely had time to think, as an announcement was heard throughout the building, indicating that the court session was about to resume.

"...Fine. I'll do it."  
"Excellent." one of the men said as he turned around to face Kenny's double. "You know what to do."

* * *

Inside the courtroom, everyone gasped at the surprise visit by Kenny's double. The jury's curiosity was particularly piqued by the mysterious stranger's sudden appearance.

"Who's this?" the judge asked.

Gerald turned to Kenny, more puzzled than anyone else, and Kenny approached him. He whispered some incomprehensible words in Gerald's ear, who finally smiled for the first time since he agreed to take Kenny's case.

"Your honor, this is a witness to the crime. I think that, if you let us hear his testimony, everything will become clear."  
"Your honor, this witness has not been put through the proper procedures, and-"  
"If this witness is not allowed to testify, my client might be wrongfully sentenced."  
"If this witness **is** allowed to testify, you might as well toss out the rulebook." the prosecutor retorted.

The judge looked at Gerald, then the prosecutor. He sighed and looked at his gavel, pensive.

"I..."

Everyone was on the edge of their seats. Would the judge go with the rules, and risk sending Kenny to jail for the rest of his life, or would he set the rules aside for the sake of justice?

"...I'll allow it."

The prosecutor became enraged and almost yelled at the judge for what he perceived to be a bad decision, but held his tongue. He was still hoping that the new addition to Kenny's case would be irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Everyone else, including the jury, sighed in relief.

* * *

Kenny's double quickly became the topic of discussion. As Kenny expected, he immediately confessed to Cartman's murder.

"I did it. I used my... resemblance with Kenny to my advantage and framed him for it."

The jury gasped in amazement, but the prosecutor simply widened his eyes in anger.

"Why did you only come clean now?"  
"I was hoping that Kenny would be sent to prison instead of me, but... I just couldn't live with the guilt anymore."

Everyone seemed to buy Kenny's double's story, except Kenny himself. Even the prosecutor seemed to be somewhat softened in his resolve to put Kenny behind bars permanently. Of course, looks can be deceiving.

"Do you have proof?"  
"Well, you can see my face in the video, and I can tell you where I dumped Cartman's body after I killed him."

The jury gasped again, making the prosecutor sweat a little.

"_Even these morons should be questioning this guy's story by now._" the prosecutor thought.

* * *

The trial went on for a few more minutes, just long enough for Kenny's double to be cross-examined by Gerald, purely for the sake of formality. Obviously, Gerald kept any possibly incriminating questions out his examination. After all the evidence was analyzed, the jury left to deliberate. They returned after a short amount of time with the verdict. The prosecutor glanced at Kenny, who was relieved, and frowned.

"_I knew it... The justice system in this country is a flawed one at best._"

"Has the jury reached a verdict?" the judge asked.  
"We have, your honor. We find the defendant... not guilty."

Cheers echoed throughout the courtroom from everyone, save for Kenny and the prosecutor. The judge banged his gavel several times before everyone quieted down. The trial ended after some formalities from the judge, who then sent Kenny home with some guards, as his parents hadn't shown up.

"Please come with us, sir."

The guards led Kenny to a police car and drove off. Kenny immediately noticed something was wrong. The doors were locked as soon as he entered the car, and the officers drove off as quickly as they could.

"Who are you?" Kenny asked. "Where are we going?"  
"Shut up!"

One of the guards quickly turned around and hit Kenny in the forehead with his gun. Kenny started bleeding, but didn't think much of it.

"_I've been worse... I guess I should try to enjoy the ride._"

"Put this on."

The guard in the passenger seat handed Kenny a bag. Kenny was hesitant to put it on, and the guard could tell, but he did it anyway, for Kyle's sake.

* * *

Kenny was driven for hours without ever having the chance to get out and stretch his legs. When they finally arrived at their destination, Kenny was handcuffed and quickly dragged out of the car, without ever removing his bag. He could feel something sticky under his feet, but didn't even try to guess what it was.

"_Probably best if I don't know._" Kenny thought.

Once Kenny passed through the initial area with the sticky substance on the floor, his bag was removed. At first, he was blinded by the light, but slowly became used to it. He was quickly tossed into a cell, where Kyle awaited.

"Kenny!"

Kyle ran straight for Kenny and hugged him as tight as he could. Kenny hugged him back, and Kyle started weeping tears of joy. Kenny could feel the salty liquid being absorbed by his parka, but didn't say a word. In fact, he enjoyed the feeling of warmth he was deriving from both Kyle's body and his tears.

"I've missed you so much, Kenny... You have no idea."  
"I can tell. I've never seen you cry that much."  
"Oh, your parka is all wet..."  
"It's fine, Kyle."  
"I'm sorry I left, but... I had to do something to help you. I couldn't just sit there and do nothing anymore."  
"So you were the one to arrange for that... guy to show up at my trial?"  
"What guy? Look, I just helped them figure something out."  
"Who's 'them'?"  
"They're... Cthulhu worshipers."  
"What?! And you helped them?!"  
"I didn't know what else to do! I was scared... I thought you were going to be sent to prison forever, or worse."

Kenny gave Kyle a speech about sacrificing his life for the lives of others, which drove Kyle to tears. He turned away from Kenny, who stopped talking as soon as he saw Kyle crying.

"I'm sorry." Kenny said as he approached Kyle "I didn't mean to... I didn't want to be mean, it's just-"  
"I'm not crying because you were mean, Kenny... It's because... you're right. I was selfish."  
"Kyle... Just promise me you won't do anything more to help them."  
"...I promise."

Kyle turned to Kenny, and the latter wiped away his tears.

"Thank you, Kenny."

The boys locked lips for just a second, before a guard interrupted their moment.

"McCormick! Broflovski! Get out here!"

Kenny turned around and walked toward the cell door, making sure Kyle was behind him.

"What do you want?" Kenny asked.  
"I want you to get your asses out here, right now! We have a place to get to." the guard said as he opened a small window near the middle of the door. "Put your hands here so we can secure you, and then we're moving out."  
"What if we say no?"

In response, the guard fired a bullet through the small opening, making sure not to hit either Kenny or Kyle, but also making it fly close enough to them so that they'd be scared.  
Kenny placed his hands in the opening first, then Kyle, and the large door was opened. The guard on the other side put a bag over each boy's head and aimed a rifle at them, before leading them to a small garage, where a car awaited.

"Get in." the guard said.

Kenny let Kyle go in first, so that he'd be sitting in the middle, which, in Kenny's mind, would be the safest place in case of trouble.

* * *

The boys were driven for a few minutes, until they arrived at a marina. The guards pulled them out of the car and onto a boat. Kenny was already starting to feel ill just from the slight vibrations caused by the water, yet he ignored those feelings and tried getting his bag off. In response, he received a blow to the back of the head that made him drop to his knees and scream in pain.

"Kenny!"  
"Quiet, Broflovski!"  
"Where are you taking us?!" Kyle asked. "What do you want?!"  
"I said quiet!"

The guard was about to hit Kyle, when their commander told him to stand down.

"Yes, sir!" the guard replied.  
"I'm sorry for that, Mr. McCormick. My men are... devoted to our cause."  
"What do you want from us?"  
"It's simple, Mr. Broflovski. We want you to help us set our master free."  
"You mean Cthulhu, right?" Kenny asked as he tried to stand up. "We know about him... In fact, we were there when he was defeated."  
"Defeated, yes, but not killed. You see, unlike what our previous leader thought your friend – Bradley, I think – was not an immortal. He was exceedingly powerful, yes, but not a true immortal. Those are few and far between nowadays... Only the great Old Ones can call themselves such."

* * *

The guards' commander went on to discuss his beliefs with Kenny and Kyle, but only the latter was paying any attention to it. Kenny was mostly trying to figure out what to do with their situation, to no avail. He couldn't help but listen to the commander every once in a while, yet he didn't buy any of it.  
Kenny's thoughts were being constantly interrupted by seasickness, which he was desperately trying to keep under control. The guards noticed it, but they didn't care.

* * *

Once the boat finally arrived at the destination and stopped moving so much, Kenny signed in relief. The boys' bags were removed by the guards, but not the handcuffs. They both kept their eyes closed for a short while, thinking it was still day, yet they were wrong. It was already night time. They looked at the place they had arrived at, but neither of them recognized it. It was a gold-plated city with large ovoid-shaped buildings. Some looked like horizontal ovoids stacked on top of each other, with nothing more than a simple cylinder connecting them.

"Where are we?" Kyle asked.  
"This... is R'lyeh. The city where the great Old One Cthulhu awaits us."

The entrance was a large door, several feet tall. It didn't seem to have a handle or lock, but it was most definitely a door. Under their commander's orders, the guards started shooting at the door in the hopes of opening a hole big enough to grab a hold of it. The door withstood all their bullets without so much as a scratch.

"What now?" one of the guards asked his commander.  
"We blow it."

The guards got several blocks of RDX they had stashed on the boat and attached it to the door. Then their commander put the boat a safe distance away from the city and blew the door. The explosion was big enough to be felt even where they stood, yet the hole it created was just big enough to fit one person at a time.

"_It'll have to do._" the guards' commander thought.

Once the boat went back to its previous spot, the guards sent Kenny and Kyle in first. Kenny looked around as soon as he was through. The inside of the city was nothing like the outside would indicate. There were rocks floating in mid-air, a dark sky that constantly shifted from having a few visible stars to entire galaxies and pillars as high as Kenny could see.  
Kyle also looked at everything he could see once he arrived, mouth agape in amazement.

"...Beautiful." Kyle simply said.

Kenny looked at Kyle in surprise. He didn't expect such a comment, yet he had no choice but to agree.  
The guards arrived shortly after, and the group started moving. One of the guards stared in bemusement at a floating rock and approached it. Once he got close enough to touch the stone, he was immediately flung upward and crushed in mid-air.

"Stay still!" the commander yelled.

Everyone followed the commander's order and froze. Once he was sure it was safe to move, the commander walked toward the general area where his underling had died and tossed one of the rocks at his feet toward it. The rock slowly floated toward the one that was still in place and touched it. When that happened, it was also flung upward and exploded.

"Watch for these floating rocks. They're gravity traps."

The rocks only indicated where gravity was most messed up. As the group quickly found out, other gravity disturbances occurred along their path. Sometimes the gravity was lowered to the point where it felt like they were on the moon, other times it was like they weighed ten times their regular weight.  
Kenny was still looking around himself, constantly amazed by R'lyeh. He was beginning to linger, so one of the guards yelled at him.

"Move it, McCormick!"

Kenny received a kick for lagging behind and quickly resumed his previous pace. He still looked all around himself, but to a lesser degree than before. Everything was different than the way he remembered it. There were staircases rising in spirals, some of them upside-down, and several weirdly-shaped and colorful rocks. The Cthulhu worshipers were also having trouble adjusting to their new environment, and some of them were feeling sick from the random changes in gravity.  
Kenny held Kyle's hands, albeit awkwardly, due to the handcuffs, and tried to calm him down.

"Everything's gonna be alright, Kyle." Kenny whispered.  
"How can you say that? We're stuck in R'lyeh, surrounded by armed guards and are on our way to release Cthulhu."  
"Just trust me. I have a plan."  
"Seriously?"  
"Would you believe me if I said yes?"  
"No..."  
"Then yes."

Kyle smiled and giggled a bit, earning some angry stares from the guards surrounding them. Once reality set in again, however, Kyle's smile vanished, and he lowered his head. Kenny gently rubbed Kyle's hands for a few seconds, just in time to receive another kick.

"Keep it down in there!"

Kyle was about to receive a kick as well, but Kenny put himself in the way and blocked the blow. He dropped to his knees and screamed in pain.

"Kenny!"  
"Shut up, Broflovski!"

Kyle held Kenny as best as he could and helped him up.

"Kenny, don't do that. I don't want you to get hurt."  
"And you think I want to get hurt?" Kenny said as he got up, clearly in pain. "I just don't want **you** to get hurt even more."  
"That's enough chatter, ladies. Move it!"

Kenny and Kyle sped up once Kenny's pain dissipated enough for him to be able to walk. The group was led to a large door, bigger than anything any of them had ever seen before. There were some odd-looking dials near the middle, a lot lower than one would expect for such a large door, and a lot smaller as well. The adults didn't seem surprised by any of it, as if they had already been at the threshold.

"_Why did they bring us here?_" Kenny thought. "_And what's with the door? It's as tall as a small building!_"

One of the guards signaled another, and Kyle was dragged to the front of the door.

"Kyle!"  
"Quiet!" one of the guards yelled.

Kyle's face was squished against its hard surface, near the dials Kenny had seen, which just made him angrier at the guards.

"_There's no reason to hurt him. They've got what they wanted._"

"Open it." one of the guards said.  
"No." Kyle quickly retorted.

Kyle was hit in the face with the guard's gun, and he repeated his command more firmly.

"Open it now."

Kyle felt blood trickle down from his cheek and watched it drip onto the ground, but simply denied the guard's demand in the same tone the guard had used on him.

"No."

The large guard was about to hit Kyle again, when another whistled. The first guard stopped in his tracks, and the second aimed his gun at Kenny.

"Open it right now, or your friend dies."  
"Kyle, don't do-"

Kenny's sentence was cut short by a powerful kick that knocked the air out of him. Kyle stared at Kenny for a few seconds, watching him squirm in pain, and tried a different approach.

"I don't know how to open it."

The guards looked at each other and laughed.

"Bullshit." the guard closest to Kyle said. "We've been watching you. You've been researching this place. How to open the final gate. Do it now, or we will kill your friend." he said, pausing between the final three words.  
"...Fine. I'll need some tools."

The guards' leader snapped his fingers and one of his underlings brought a large toolkit to Kyle. Kyle picked up some tools Kenny couldn't identify and began fiddling with the dials, with the guards watching in excitement and anticipation.

* * *

After almost an hour, with Kenny wheezing in pain and Kyle frantically working on the dials, a loud click was heard.

"...It's done." Kyle simply said.

The guard closest to Kyle roughly tossed him aside, and his accomplices and leader soon joined him at the gate. Kenny stared at Kyle in horror, surprised that his friend had actually helped the Cthulhu cult find R'lyeh and open the gate, in spite of what they both knew Cthulhu would do. Kyle winked at him, and Kenny's eyes were drawn back to the guards. The door opened with a loud sound, unlike anything Kenny had ever heard. Light emanated from the opening, and Kenny stared at it, wide-eyed, until Kyle finally spoke.

"Cover your eyes." Kyle whispered.

Kenny did as Kyle asked as quickly as his beaten body allowed, and the next sounds he heard were the screams of the guards as they were dissolved by the light. In spite of Kenny's arms being in front of his eyes, the light made it bright enough to almost see through them. Once it was over, Kenny uncovered his eyes and stared at flesh-colored puddles on the floor with bones sticking out of them.

"We have to go, Kenny!"

Kyle picked Kenny up and put his arm around him. Kenny used Kyle for support and limped wherever Kyle led him. After a few feet, an earthquake started.

"_It's happening sooner than I would've expected._" Kyle thought.

"Hurry, Kenny!"

Kyle led Kenny out of R'lyeh and onto the boat they had been brought in. Not knowing exactly what he was doing, Kyle pushed one of the levers controlling its engines all the way, and the boat started moving.  
Kenny stared back at R'lyeh and saw it slowly sink into the ocean, with relief.

"I can't believe it's over... Kyle, how did you know how to do that?"  
"I... I researched everything I could find on Cthulhu, but... that shouldn't have happened."  
"What are you talking about?"  
"...It's not over yet."

Kenny stared back at the part of the ocean where the great city stood. It suddenly formed into a vortex, and a large mass began to emerge from it. It looked like green moss, yet different. It quickly formed into a behemoth with dragon wings, green scales and large red eyes. It had sharp teeth and tentacles dropping down from its upper lip. Both boys recognized it as Cthulhu. They watched in horror as Cthulhu flapped its wings and took off. Kenny stared at Kyle, with a mixture of anger, resentment, confusion and disbelief. Kyle stared right back, with regret and sadness in his eyes.

"Kyle... What have you done?"  
"Kenny... I'm so sorry."

Cthulhu had finally been set free.

* * *

If you read the gore and are thinking "Well, that wasn't so bad", I wanted to let you know that I didn't use my full thoughts and feelings, both for the sake of brevity and because I didn't feel it was necessary.  
Anyway, I feel I should point out that, in terms of pages, this chapter is bigger than most of my stories. In terms of word count, it's "only" bigger than some chapters of some stories. I'm not planning on the next story in this series (or any story, in fact) to have a chapter as long as this one, though.


End file.
